Five die as storms hammer West Michigan

Courtesy Photo/Gert Wallis A 27-year-old man was killed when a tree fell on his car in Spring Lake during a thunderstorm. His fiancee escaped through a passenger door, witnesses said.

SPRING LAKE -- Five people were killed today as deadly storms ripped through West Michigan.

In Spring Lake, a motorist was killed just after 2 p.m. when a tree fell on his car as the third thunderstorm in as many days pounded the region.

About the same time, officials report a woman in Conklin was killed when she was hit by a tree.

In nearby Robinson Township, a man drowned while he tried to tend to a dam being overtaken by rising waters.

And two people were killed early today when their car plummeted into a ravine beneath a washed-out road caused by a flash flood in Saugatuck Township.

In the Spring Lake accident, Holly Johnson said there was a massive gust of wind followed by sounds of a crash outside her home on the 500 block of River Street.

Johnson said the victim was a 27-year-old man with his fiancee in the passenger seat. The woman exited through the passenger door, which had been forced open by the impact of the large tree hitting the car, Johnson said.

"It was absolutely horrible with him being just a young kid," she said.

Johnson called 9-1-1 and said rescue units were on the scene in seconds, but the young driver died from his injuries, according to Ottawa County sheriff's officials.

In the Conklin accident, a 53-year-old woman was killed at 2:20 p.m. when a tree fell on her as she went to secure her pole barn.

Ursula Swidewinski was walking to secure a pole barn in her yard at 2766 Crockery Shores Drive when a large tree fell on her, according to Sgt Keith Garvelink of the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department.

A neighbor tried CPR to resuscitate the woman, but she was declared dead on the scene. It appears high winds brought the tree down upon Swidewinski.

A short time earlier in Robinson Township, a 67-year-old man drowned while he tried to tend to a dam being overtaken by rising waters.

Around 1 p.m., a neighbor found John Pekich's car parked along 112th Avenue south of Lake Michigan Drive near at the Worley Drain Dam.

Pekich, a West Olive resident, was know for tending the dam and it is likely he was doing so when he fell in the fast-moving waters, according to the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department.
The department dive team searched the area around the dam and found Pekich's body downstream from the drain.

The afternoon's heavy thunderstorms caused damage throughout the area.

Hundreds of trees across West Michigan have been knocked down, with several falling on power lines, structures and across streets -- including a tree that fell across Bradford Street NE, east of East Beltline Avenue.

Courtesy Photo/J.C. CorderoThis afternoon's thunderstorm rumbles into Grand Rapids. This picture was taken from Monroe Terrace in downtown Grand Rapids.

Traffic lights dangled by a thread on Michigan Street NE near downtown, prompting police to close the street while repair units fix the battered signals. A stretch of U.S. 31 in Holland is also under water, closing the road. Many other roads are also impassable.

The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch throughout the night for the area between Int. 96 and 94.

Meteorologists say the Grand Rapids area could see a total of 2 inches of rain before day's end, after more than 1.5 inches fall last night.

Many areas south of Grand Rapids and along the lakeshore received as much as 5 inches of rain over the past 24 hours.

Heavy rains have also played havoc with area sewer systems.

The Ottawa County Health Department has issued a "no body contact advisory" for Lake Macatawa that will stay in effect until 11 a.m. Tuesday. Sanitary sewers overflowed into the lake, resulting in about 10,000 gallons of discharge being released, according to Lisa Stefanovsky, health officer for the county.

At the same time, Grand Rapids announced it has a sewer overflow discharge near Spencer Street at College Avenue NE. The city's combined stormwater and sewer sytem also discharged diluted sewage into the river Saturday night.

Consumers Energy reports that 2,300 customers in Grand Rapids are without power while Allegan has 2,600 and Zeeland has 930 powerless.